Referring now to FIG. 1, a typical computer architecture for a laptop or desktop computer 10 is shown. The computer 10 includes an input/output (I/O) interface 12 that communicates with one or more peripheral devices 13. The memory 16 stores data and includes random access memory (RAM), read-only memory (ROM), Flash memory, and/or any other type of electronic data storage. The memory 16 communicates with a processor, memory and graphics hub 18. The hub 18, in turn, communicates with the I/O interface 12. A processor 20 also communicates with the processor, memory and graphics hub 18 and performs data processing, calculations, and other tasks. A graphics card and/or chip 24 may be provided to accelerate graphics processing. In some implementations, the processor, memory and graphics hub 18 and/or the graphics card and/or chip 24 are omitted and/or are integrated with other components.
The computer 10 further includes a display 30, which is typically a color display. A disk drive system 34 typically includes a magnetic storage medium that stores data. The disk drive system 34 may include a hard disk controller (HDC), an embedded processor, and/or other components (not shown). One or more input/output (I/O) devices 36 such as a keyboard, a mouse, a touch pad, a scratch pad and/or other pointing and/or input devices facilitate data input, navigation and/or user interaction with the computer. A wireless network interface 38 enables wireless connectivity with a wireless network such as a wide area network, a local area network, a cellular network such as CDMA, GSM, GSM3G, GPRS systems or other cellular networks, a Bluetooth network, or any other wireless network type. For example, the wireless network interface 38 may be compliant with IEEE Section 802.11, 802.11a, 802.11b, 802.11g, and/or 802.16.
Referring now to FIG. 2, when a laptop user travels with a laptop 50, the laptop 50 may pass through hot zones 54-1 and 54-2 (collectively hot zones 54). Access points 56-1 and 56-2 (collectively access points 56) provide wireless network connectivity to a distributed communications system 58 such as the Internet in the hot zones 54-1 and 54-2, respectively. Similarly, a home zone 60 may include an access point 62 that also provides wireless access to the distributed communication system 58.
Unless the laptop 50 is turned on and booted up, the user is not able to determine whether he or she has entered a hot zone 54. As can be appreciated, booting up the laptop 50 to determine whether a hot zone 54 is available is a time-consuming process. Likewise, when the laptop user wants to check e-mail, to check securities quotes, to trade securities and/or to use other Internet services, the laptop user must boot up the laptop 50.